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Topic: Port Empire City (Read 19343 times)

Not quite two eras, I would call it three, just to include the transition century and a half between steam engines and containers. Actually four several eras: Human powered, wind powered, cross oceanic navigation, mechanical power, containers.

The first boats required rowers, then the shift to deeper draft wind power. But it wasn't until accurate "portable" clocks were invented that extended periods of time, two plus weeks, out of sight of land was feasible. During the mid 1800s ships shifted from wind to steam power. The early 1900s saw the shift to bulk tankers, but cargo was still breakbulk. (Barrels or boxes, stuff that could be tied together or put in a cargo net/on a pallet and hoisted out of the hold with a crane.) I want to say 1957 was the year the first container ship sailed, but it was about then. I am not sure when bulk carriers as they are now became common, but I would say either in the early 1900s with the bulk tankers or right after WWII.

So it's more than two, but there aren't so many as to make it overwhelming. Most of the eras are over a thousand years long.

I'm pretty sure I ditched the notes, but port development went through five phases from pulling up on the beach to building elaborate quays. Don't forget that the Romans did stuff with cement that we still can't do.

For some reason this discussion makes me want to dig up information on the changes in Liverpool - and how in some cases it was easier to abandon the old facilities and move elsewhere in the port.In particular when Diesel replaced steam the old facilities, with their enormous coal bunkers were left to rust, rot, and crumble for several decades. And before that pretty much the same thing happened when steam replaced sails.

A Liverpuddlian friend of mine lived in an apartment that was part of a converted warehouse - in the basement they still had the rings and chains left from the slave trade - while slaves were illegal in England while they were in transit they were considered merely cargo....

A series of PDFs covering various areas of Empire city in greater detail than the main book might not be a bad idea, not limited to the port, but also the railyards, the slums, and downtown. I have spent most of my life in port cities, and ports would be my main interest as well, not least because of pulp gaming, and a lack of interest in 'street' - the closest I might come would be pulp-noir. Having greater detail would make it easier to use as a more generic setting.

Was reading an old Pulp Novel and wondering if Empire City was a Port.

Now I know !! This means the city has Fog.

Makes it a dead cert for the home town of my 1930s Pulp Crimefighters. Every Pulp crime adventure needs Fog !!!

Can see it now. "A thick fog covers the city like a shroud. Ahead, through the murk you see the gaudy neon nights of Chinatown. Soon you will arrive at Lu Fangs headquarters......"

Yum Yum. Looking forward to 10KB even more now.

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Lo, there do I see my father. Lo, there do I see my mother.And my sister and my brotherLo, there do I see the line of my people Back to the beginning.Lo, they do call to me.They bid me take my place among themIn the halls of Valhalla Where the brave may live forever !!!

Can see it now. "A thick fog covers the city like a shroud. Ahead, through the murk you see the gaudy neon nights of Chinatown. Soon you will arrive at Lu Fangs headquarters......"

A key component of famous historical fogs, London's for example, is smoke. First wood and then coal, the particulates aided the formation of the fog. The shift to natural gas and electricity cut down the smoke and London's air is cleaner, and less foggy, than it has been in centuries. Other noteworthy fogs, San Francisco, are a result of local geography.

Cool. Fasinating. So, if I move Empire City back to the 30s and put it in the right place on the coast, would that cover me for the occasional pea-souper ??.

Maybe add in a speedboat chase round the harbour (with gunfire) too. Thats worked for every detective series ever created, from Sherlock Holmes (The Sign of Four) to Miami Vice. In fact, a speedboat chase was mandatory in each episode of Miami Vice.

« Last Edit: September 07, 2010, 09:00:24 AM by snake »

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Lo, there do I see my father. Lo, there do I see my mother.And my sister and my brotherLo, there do I see the line of my people Back to the beginning.Lo, they do call to me.They bid me take my place among themIn the halls of Valhalla Where the brave may live forever !!!

All I know is I am amazed by how much stuff a 40ft container can hold and how frequently they are now being used for smuggling. It is insane they just found yet another shipping container full of cocaine last week.

All I know is I am amazed by how much stuff a 40ft container can hold and how frequently they are now being used for smuggling. It is insane they just found yet another shipping container full of cocaine last week.

Wow.

Another thought just struck me. Will the New MC Organisation rules be used to create Criminal Gangs

« Last Edit: September 07, 2010, 09:11:36 AM by snake »

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Lo, there do I see my father. Lo, there do I see my mother.And my sister and my brotherLo, there do I see the line of my people Back to the beginning.Lo, they do call to me.They bid me take my place among themIn the halls of Valhalla Where the brave may live forever !!!

It doesn't surprise me how much they hold but it does surprise me how often they are used. It is getting brazen and speaks to how lax they think we are regarding it.

Yes, the one for 10KB can be used for that specifically...

The scary truth is that so much product is coming into the US that losing the occasional container just doesn't hurt them that much. While the stuff has a very high street value the manufacturing cost is rather low.